trading figures

The fine folks that brought us a number of familiar characters hanging off our cups from Funassyi to Disney to Madoka Magica is at it again. This time around Kitan Club is ready to electrify your favorite drinks wit...

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Jan 10 //
Jeremy Emerje CrockerFigure Name: Natsume Yuujinchou Petit Chara LandFigure Maker: MegaHouseRetail Price: ¥4,200Available at: HobbyLink Japan
Starting things off let's take a look at the box. Actually, these being trading figures meant to be sold individually this is a display carton that most people in Japan normally wouldn't buy. I really like the art on the front that was made for the set. On the sides are some really nicely arranged photos of some of the figures taken outside. A lot of these trading figure cartons are either plain with just text or printed in single color scale so as these things go this is one of the better ones I've seen.
The individual boxes share the same art as the display carton, but the sides only have stock photos of the figures. The more creative shots seen on the sides of the carton can be found under the flaps hidden inside the top and bottom of the box. Not sure why they did this, seems like these photos would do a lot more good selling the figures if they were used on the outside instead of the stock photos. OK, enough critiquing the boxes, let's take a look at the figures!
Of the five figures and one secret (though probably not especially rare) figures only one doesn't represent a season; more on that figure a little later. This is the first figure I opened so it's as good of place as any to start. Here we have Natsume and Nyanko Sensei representing winter with Nyanko as a snowman. And... On no! What's wrong with his face!? Seems what little paint there is on his face got quite the smear on it, and it's in too delicate of a place to remove it. So much for being a lucky cat, I'm not feeling lucky at all. Not the best way to start.
Smudge aside I like the looks of the figures. They certainly live up to the word petit, they're very small, roughly two inches tall. Price to size ratio isn't exactly optimal, about ¥700 each at retail, for the size I'd rather they were closer to ¥500, but they're nice for what they are and the current exchange rate helps a lot. Sculpting is nice and I like the themes so I can live with it.
Spring is up next with Nyanko Sensei and Natsume all ready for some cherry blossom viewing. This figure is more elaborate than the winter figure featuring Natsume in a dark blue and green haori holding a cherry tree branch while Nyanko has his beloved sake bottle. Two things I really love about this figure is going the extra length to make the bottle clear and that they painted on all of Nyanko's paw pads. Very nicely done.
For the Summer figure it's a little hard to see Natsume, but check out Nyanko Sensei. This is such a cute figure for him, complete with grilled squid in his mouth.
Here's a better shot from different angle. Natsume is wearing a summer kimono complete with a little blue fan tucked in his back and geta on his feet. It's a great figure, I love the way Natsume is holding Nyanko up.
Autumn is my favorite figure of all. Yeah, it's a little simple, but it's very Natsume Yuujinchou with the way Nyanko Sensei is sitting on Natsume's head. The expression on Nyanko's face is just perfect with the fallen leaf on his head. I also like that of the seasonal figures this is the only one that isn't standing in place. Natsume is holding a bundle of wheat in his right hand to represent the fall harvest, but I'm more interested in what's on his left hand.
Check out the dragonfly! Keep in mind that little thing is smaller than a pencil eraser head and they still got some great detail in it. Yeah, definitely my favorite figure in the series.
The fifth figure in the set is a little more unusual. It's hard to tell, but it's actually Nyanko Sensei transformed into Natsume. It's based on episode six of Natsume Yuujinchou Shi, the Other Side of the Glass. In the episode Natsume is trapped inside a glass jar and Nyanko changes into him to take his place while he searches for the one that stuck Natsume in there.
You can see the jar behind, but unfortunately it seems they couldn't find a way to stick a tiny Natsume in there so it's left empty. It almost feels like half of a concept and if you weren't familiar with the figure's story it would just seem like Natsume is doing a strange pose. For me this is the least successful of the series and from what I can gather it's the least popular among fans.
And here's the secret figure, a redeco of the spring figure. Now sporting a more cherry blossom appropriate pink, it's a nice alternative, but not quite as nicely executed as the blue and green of the original. I wish they would have changed up the pattern or something to really set it apart. Meanwhile Nyanko Sensei is looking kinda cherry in the face himself.
And that's our six. They're a an exceptionally cute series of figures based on the Natsume Yuujinchou duo and look great displayed. The paint is OK, but could be much better. If you're a fan then they're worth having, but you might want to buy them second hand to assure you get the best looking figures. Still, the cheapest and most efficient way to get them is in a case. Were I to do it again I'd probably still go with the case.
[Huge thanks to HobbyLink Japan for the review samples!]

Insert Scarface "little friend" joke hereNatsume Yuujinchou (Natsume's Book of Friends) will probably always rank as one of my favorite top anime series of all time. For four seasons I laughed and cried with this series like few others. I was pretty sad when the fin...

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Mar 14 //
Martin SiggersFigure Name: Half Age Chie Satonaka/Yukiko Amagi/Rise Kujikawa/Nanako Dojima Figure Maker: BandaiRetail Price: ¥5,600Available at: Entertainment Earth
Since Bandai's Half-Age Characters are trading figures, what we've got here is a pack of eight separate figures, bundled together inside one box. This isn't a blind box though, as you can tell by the text "4+4 variation." What this means essentially is you're guaranteed two of each character, a regular version and a variant version, which we'll come back to. I'd also like to commend whoever writes the advertising copy for these things. With international sales now a big thing, we're getting less and less terrible/amazing Engrish, but CUTER THAN REAL! COOLER THAN DEFORMATION! is one of the best strap lines I've seen in a while.
The package pops open like so in an easy-to-display-on-sales-counters way, with eight individual boxes inside. Adopting the trademark Persona 4 bright yellow motif makes them very eye-catching. We've got pictures of the main figures on the front and back, while the variant versions pop up on the sides.
Tucked away inside each box is a decapitated Persona girl and a base in two parts. All four of these figures break down the same way - head, body, circular white plastic base and leg support for stability. Attaching the heads is simply done by popping a ball joint in, although this proved very difficult on certain figures, probably due to a combination of the character hair and some poorly moulded sockets.
And here they are! Represented in very adorable chibified form we've got bad cook Yukiko Amagi, teen (now pre-teen I guess) idol Rise Kujikawa, adorable little sister Nanako Dojima and fighting carnivore Chie Satonaka. Nanako's clearly the odd one out here, as she's not a playable party member (poor Naoto) but she fits in well so it's hardly an issue.
These gals are about the standard capsule toy size, which is to say, pretty dinky. Including the bases they're about 8-10 cm, with Nanako naturally being a little shorter than the others. I've put Chie up alongside her figma counterpart here to give you some idea of scale.
Since we've got Chie here, let's look at her first. I love this angry, slightly aggressive pose they've put her in, which somehow only conspires to increase the "awwwww" factor. The little stick of yakitori (skewered meat) only adds to the charm.
One thing worth saying is that you obviously shouldn't expect a painting masterclass here. Trading figures are pretty rough and ready by their nature, and as you can see in these photos, there's quite a lot of paint spill and uneven detailing. That's fine considering the price point, but be aware you're not exactly getting mini-Alter here.
Each figure attaches to their base via a simple friction peg, and also includes a basic stand which clips to their leg for additional support. It's not totally necessary but helps with stability so there's no harm in using them.
While the other characters may have been aged down, Nanako's already only six, and a figure of a toddler wouldn't be much fun, so she looks pretty much the same age. Bonus marks for the authentic Junes branded carrier bag. Nanako's also the only figure I didn't bother using the leg stand for, as she stands with two feet and is already pretty stable.
Yukiko, appalling chef that she is, is pictured in the middle of spilling some vile looking slop. Could it be Mystery Food X? It's a nice, movement filled pose and a good example that even at this scale you can really convey a lot of motion through a good sculpt. While the rest of the characters actually have a pretty good range of head motion thanks to those ball joints, Yukiko basically can't move hers thanks to those long tresses coming down the front.
Rise is our last lady, and unlike the others she ditches her regular in-game look for a flashy idol outfit. I like the decision, but the flipside is that a more complex outfit really shows up the limitations of the sculpting process, and as a result Rise probably looks the roughest of the four figures. There's just not enough detail to keep up with that ruffled skirt and the microphone is so basic it looks dangerously like something else.
As I mentioned earlier, this is a "4+4" pack, and that means we get all the girls again, only with slight variations. With one exception, these are all replacement heads, with the only difference being new expressions.
Chie's that one exception, since she gets her yakitori stick removed and replaced by a closed fist. She's also sporting the game's trademark glasses, and the combination makes her look a lot more battle ready than the default version. It's worth noting that, although it's pretty foggy, there is actual clear plastic in the glasses.
Yukiko's variant is the least imaginative, simply popping glasses onto her face as well.
Nanako goes for all out cute with this impossibly precious smile. This is one face where the ability to tilt and turn the head comes in handy.
Rise is probably my favourite variant, sporting the one-two punch of the flirty wink and the cheeky tongue sticking out.
I love these gals to bits, but that's probably more of a heart than head thing. They're pretty rough quality-wise even by trading figure standards, and while the variant idea is nice it sort of sucks that you get each girl twice and the changes are so minor.
On the other hand, the designs are absolutely wonderful - cute, stylish, and with more thought put into them than a host of larger scale figures. I'd say if you want them, find a friend, split the cost and take a set each. Or you could wait on the off chance a toy-themed website decides to give some of them away. Regardless, what these ladies lack in fine paint detail, they make up for with bundles of charm
[A huge thank-you to the ladies and gentlemen over at Entertainment Earth, who provided the Persona gang for this review]

CUTER THAN REALI, like all rational and reasonable human beings, love Persona 4 with all of my heart and soul. And considering I write for a toy website, it's pretty obvious that I like cute things too. So what happens when Bandai takes the already adorable girls of Persona 4 and makes them extra adorable for their Half-Age Character series? Well, read on to find out!

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Poses range from what our edit...

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Nov 28 //
Jeremy Emerje Crocker
Chris Moore, aka We Become Monsters, is moving to Vegas and he's whipped up some great looking 7 inch Munnies to help pay the way. He's already sold Portlybello, but Patchworx, Moloch, and Creative BLOCK are still available.
Over in Japan McDonald's is doing a Mario Bros. Happy Meal. You can read about them over at Japanator and Destructoid. Jealous?
Over at Culture Japan, Danny Choo has a preview gallery of the upcoming Nendoroid Shimakaze. Looking good!
Mijbil is back again with this trio of Hat Babies dragons (though one is a goat). She also has this neat Christmas ornament necklace with a little white tree inside. How can one person have so much talent?
Over on Boing Boing they've posted some felted Star Wars figurines made by Etsy seller famished. As nice as the Star Wars stuff is, my favorite thing is the felted Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors.
The Toy Art Gallery is presenting the Blamo Fifth Annual Custom Show opening December 14. To say they have a lot of artists taking part might be an understatement; I lost count around 80.
GIANTmicrobes is now taking orders on their newest plush Christmas ornament set. The Christmas Wreath box set includes a caroling Sore Throat, a White Blood Cell snowman, a gingerbread man Stomach Ache, an angelic Nerve Cell, and a limited gold Amoeba only available in this set. They're also taking orders on their previous Christmas Tree and Christmas Stocking sets.
Kotobukiya posted on their blog a teaser for their beautiful upcoming Sakuya from Shining Ark. No real info is given yet, but we should be seeing pre-orders real soon.
Donald "kodykoala" Kennedy wanted to make something other than a Pac-man mech so he made a monster truck! It's an RC and even makes a "waka-waka" noise at the push of a button. You can see more pictures in his flickr gallery.
Hot Toys is introducing this pair of Chitauri to their Avengers movie 1/6 scale line. The Chitauri Commander and Chitauri Footsoldier can be bought separately or as a set. Each figure comes with a weapon, stand, and diorama rubble. They'll be available sometime in mid-2014.
Phat Company is teasing a new 1/8 figure based on IDOLM@STER's Miki Hoshii. If it stays true to the image it'll be a rare figure of her in casual wear rather than an idol outfit. Unfortunately we haven't got any other details at this time.
Adding to all of the teasers: Good Smile Company has revealed details on their Nendoroid More Pajama sets. These will be offered in the blind boxed trading style with two types and six colors to choose from. Hopefully we'll have a better look soon.
Don't forget that Tomopop is on Tumblr. There are all sorts of things showing up on there that you wont find here on the Tomopop website like this ass-kicking Sailor Mercury gallery!
And with that we come to the end of yet another Tomopop LinkUP. If you were celebrating I hope you had a great holiday and if you weren't, well, I hope you had a great day, too. I'll see you next week!

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Dec 26 //
Kristina PinoCut The Rope toys by Round 5This review: Set of 12 micro figures and one candy/Om Nom reversible plushieAvailable at: Zeptolab's online store | Entertainment Earth
Reversible plushie:
At first, this plushie looks like a piece of candy. But then, you turn it over ...
... and ... hey, I think there's an Om Nom in there! Let's pull him out.
Ta-dah! He's happiest when he's got some candy to munch on, so I could only imagine how he must feel being actually popping out of a piece of candy.
Anyway, it's a cute little plush and there are plenty others like it. The sample here is representative of the cuteness, but there are definitely plenty various other designs to choose from. Overall great for kiddos that are into the game, I'd say.
Micro figures:
The figures come in these trays of 12, with the bottom set of three hidden. They're in little capsules and everything and have special figures inside, the varieties of which are pictured on the back of the packaging.
It does say ages 4 and above for the set of Nommies, but I'd call this a "know your kid" situation, especially if you have pets in the home or babies around. They're quite small, and some kids might even mistake it for a gummy candy because it's squishy as advertised. I'd say they're fine if your kiddo can play with LEGO bricks safely, though.
(Here's a great DIY project: turn them into mini ornaments and hang 'em on your tree for the holidays!)
The variety you get with each pack is enough that you can recreate some scenes from the game or make your own little dioramas. I like that I got the ready-to-chomp Om Nom here and two different candies (one is heart-shaped, the other just round).
In case you're wondering about the trade-ables I got in this set, these are it. They're beyond adorable — I particularly like the one with the jet pack.
As I said, these are pretty tiny. They're probably great to put over or under your computer monitor in a neat little line, or mixing them up with the rest of your figure collection for a splash of color and cute.
Once again, these are pretty much for fans of the game. They're delightful if you're looking at these and thinking, "Oh my gawd, SO CUTE!"
Thanks to Round 5 for sending these our way! You know, one of these days I need to walk into a Toys "R" Us and see what else there is out there tied into mobile games. Do you have a favorite that you'd want to own some toys for?

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